Hi guys.
After much questioning and reading the forum I am introducing myself with my Pavoni.
I got it some time ago but wasnt truly happy with the result. I had to be doing something wrong.
I was bidding on a Elektra Mcal that I didnt win and that means the LP is staying. I am getting a new manual grinder. Still trying to decide if Pharos or the Lido suits me better.
Will probably do some modification to the machine after I master what I have.
Many sa I can do amazing shots with what I have. What the reason then to get something else?
I live in Iceland and the coffee sport is not that popular. I know no one beside me who is that much into this.
What can you tell me about my machine?
I want to get a bottomless portafilter to start with. Just love the look.

This machine is capable or producing ultimately high quality espresso! From various features of the images it seems to me that it was made in the late 1990s or 2000. I have a machine like it that is a "real" brass and copper one with nothing plated except the handle. Mine had a plastic piston originally which I replaced with a brass one. The Pharos works very well as a grinder for it. (I also have an electric one that I seldom use.) I usually make only one or two cups at a time with it. Instead of installing in place instrumentation, I rely on careful attention to a rigid routine and careful timing to handle temperature control, which these machines need.

I have modified mine substantially. I made ebony handles and knobs. I replaced the circlips with brass rods that I threaded and kept in place with acorn (dome) nuts. I machined a replacement steam tip. I machined a brass and ebony cap. I also machined two special caps that I use as test instruments, one with a gauge, the other with a deep thermometer well. I do not try to make espresso like coffee shops. I try to make it so that it tastes best to me! The La Pavoni lets you do that. It does require learning a lot about the machine, and about coffee and its chemistry. Its versality lets you make amazingly good (but also amazingly bad) espresso.

Tnaks for that.
When measuring the basked do I measure the inside?
I want to know if it is 49mm of 51.
I need to get a proper tamper

Yours is a pre-millennium group, and uses the 49mm (nominal) tamper. Some people who like a closer fit go with a 49.4 mm or so.

From what I have read on the forum I should be happy that I own a Pre.
I am also happy if it is a 49mm because the 51 is something no one else uses.
Read about a basked upgrade from the Mcal.
I am just now startin my real adventure with espresso
Also is brass a better one?
Do I need to worry about rust?

andpgud wrote:Also is brass a better one?

It costs slightly more on a new machine, and some people like the look. But the brass finishes are not always good quality, and need a lacquer coating (or routine polishing) to stay shiny. The brass ones from this era** had mild steel bases with a thin brass plating, so the bases could rust. Chrome is a little more durable and easier to maintain. (But still, stay away from scouring pads and harsh abrasives.)

But in the case of the piston, where yours may be either brass or plastic, yes brass is the better one. It lasts forever (plastic doesn't) and is less likely to come unscrewed.

andpgud wrote:Do I need to worry about rust?

Yes, especially the base which is mild steel under the chrome. Dry it well after each use underneath that plastic tray, keep a thin film of oil on the metal and screw there. Most of the rust seems to happen on the underside of that base, and is often caused by moisture/condensation. When rust is really bad the cause is often moisture from a small steam leak between the boiler base and the element, which condenses on the cooler parts of the base underside.


**Edit addition : I understood this was the case for these 90's, but may be wrong. See rpavlis post below - says that it was the earlier machines that had brass plated steel bases. My 2005 has a brass base.

Definitely get the bottomless portafilter. I found that it helped me immensely and I continue to use it daily.

Actually, last week I attended Coffee Fest in NYC and at one of the lectures (in addition to the "training" aspect) Dr. John of Josuma Coffee says it's a matter of cleanliness. His argument is that it is impossible to keep a spouted portafilter as clean as a bottomless.

It sounds like you have nice machine...enjoy your coffee adventure!

Paul

Sounds good.
What tamper do you recommend to have a good fit?
You guys sure its a 49mm?

If you have a La Pavoni that "looks" like it is copper and brass you need to know that there are real ones and factory produced fakes. All you need to find out which base you have is a Magnet. Run the magnet along the base and you will instantly know that you have a REAL brass one rather than one of La Pavoni's cheap fakes. Brass is not attracted by magnets! I am not sure why they made the fakes, but they made many of them. It is highly desirable to have a "real" one because the steel in the fake ones rust.

Apparently all La Pavoni boilers are made from copper, not brass. But, bizarrely, many of these were Ni or Cr plated, and then plated over again with copper! You can tell the real ones here from the fakes by looking at the point of attachment of the group to the boiler. This part is brass. In a real one you will see a copper coloured boiler, a thin line of solder, and then a brass part to which the group attaches. Also the ring around the base will be brass coloured on the real ones. The real one again is much more desirable, because the plating will not peel.

The fake brass and copper machines seem mostly to have been made quite a while ago. Later 1974 to 2000 group machines in copper and brass seem to be real brass and copper.

andpgud wrote:You guys sure its a 49mm?

Yes - to convince yourself look at some pictures of millennium groups and of pre-millennium groups. The shape of the group is different. Or you can measure the top part of the group - as Stefano at espressocare advises: http://espressocare.com/PavoniGroupsCompare.html

Some people think that a single element machine with the red and green switch must be a millennium. But there are lots of machines made in the 90's with the single element, red/green switch, and the pre-Millenium group.